Mindshare equals Marketshare
Winning mindshare is vitally important. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies invest significant sums of money on promotion and advertising. They hope consumer recognition will result in more purchases, greater market share and more revenue. But ‘winning mindshare’ in a B2B environment is often regarded as of secondary importance to a strong sales team.
Is advertising important for B2B?
Industrial purchases typically involve more cash and are a more considered purchase. Often teams of professional buyers are involved. Many B2B suppliers argue that the use of personal networks, sales craft, recommendation and negotiation is far more important than mindshare when it comes to securing a deal. But this ignores an important point: unknown companies will not be invited to tender for business.
The simple fact is that name recognition provides opportunities. It is probably be easier for a Dell salesperson to secure a business meeting than a relatively unknown hardware manufacturer. And there is the old adage that ‘no-one ever got sacked for choosing IBM’. So how do smaller companies compete with the marketing might of Cisco, Dell and IBM?
Competition rules have changed.
In the recent past personal networks and great selling skills helped smaller companies thrive; a low risk strategy but one which possibly limited the potential for growth.
However, the competitive environment has changed. Particularly over the past two years and it is likely to change further. The cost of projecting presence has fallen dramatically and will continue to fall. Put simply: winning mindshare is now well within the SMB marketing budget. Now everyone can start to project their presence; even competitors you did not know existed!
Today, just to be in the game, all companies need a digital media strategy. It is at least as important to the health of your business as a good website. And for some organisations, more important.
Happily, many of your competitors will just be making noise: messages with little useful or original content tweeted ad nauseam.
To beat the competition and rise above the noise, companies need to invest in structured collateral. Materials that educate the market, provide solid case studies and useful material that help your prospects do their job better. Combine this collateral with a sustained and consistent marketing communications plan (over a six month period, minimum) you will not just get heard, you will win mindshare, get your company invited to tender and deliver a raft of new opportunities
Supporting Infrastructure
Simple company websites cannot support a comprehensive digital media strategy: they are too inflexible, have limited interactivity and are unlikely to be integrated with social media, the blogosphere and interest groups.
A more plural infrastructure is required; one which has company collateral shared on third party sites, promoted by acknowledged experts and shared amongst interest groups. Your content needs to be syndicated in such a way as to maximise its exposure to your target market. To be effective as a business generation tool interactivity has to be built into each white paper, every case study. All collateral should link back to a central resource; the hub where leads can be collected and managed.
To compete today companies need to invest in their collateral – keep it fresh, compelling and useful. They need to broadcast regularly, through email, tweets and posts and they need a syndicated infrastructure to manage it.
A traditional website just will not cope.
Posted: October 13th, 2009 / 3 Comments /
3 Comments to Mindshare equals Marketshare
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Websites will always be required by business. But the functionality and role of the website will and is changing. Product sites and campaign microsites are not new. What I think will happen is that organisations will have a variety of different, supporting sites all fulfilling different functions.
Biggles on
October 14th, 2009
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I concur completely. This is the ultimate networking tool which we have seen in operation online through linkedin, etc and offline through the many and varied networking events held up and down the country.
An interesting byproduct is the emergance of professionally written ‘copy’ to help promote services.
Good article
Regards
Trevor
Trevor White on
October 15th, 2009
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When one weighs the issue at hand, i have to agree with your conclusions. You distinctly show knowledge about this matter and i have much to discover after reading your article.Lot’s of greetings and i will come back for any further updates.
Carroll B. Merriman on
December 9th, 2009